Good morning, and thanks for coming back. To help those of you who haven’t read my previous bogs, I am 61 yrs old and 50 pounds overweight. Having failed at all other attempts to lose weight and keep it off, I decided to go on a quest to find a weight loss program that wouldn’t require any undue effort or sacrifice. In the end I decided to try a self hypnosis weight loss program and, after doing my research, I chose the “Hypnotize Your Body” program from Success Hypnosis. I’m using this blog as a journal of my experience.

Well, the CD’s arrived in yesterday’s mail and they certainly met my expectations. I guess I always have a bit of nervousness when buying over the internet from someone other than a large, well known source like newegg.com or like that. Anyway, Included was my three CD’s in a triple CD jewel case, obviously professionally produced and a very nice little glossy 6 page brochure containing 18 suggestions or helpful tips as to how to make the most of these CD’s.

Some of the suggestions are a repeat of commonly known things to do for proper nutrition and health but some are new…. to me anyway. The idea of putting away the scale for a period of time is a new one on me and one I’m not going to heed simply because I want to let you know if I actually am able to lose weight without trying. By the way, so far, since committing myself to the process of not trying, you’d be proud of how well I’ve done. I haven’t even felt like trying once so I feel as if I’m on the right track.

I was also delighted to see, once again, the invitation to contact the company for support. I didn’t expect a high degree of support since this is a “self-hypnosis” weight loss program but here’s what it says. “If you have any questions about using our hypnosis CDs, please email us at xxxxx or call us at xxxxx. All questions are kept confidential and will be answered by an experienced Hypnotherapist specializing in weight loss.”

I am so used to being promised service then not getting it, it’s quite the surprise to find a company offering support they didn’t even advertise.

So, it was time to try the first one… I’d been anxiously awaiting the moment so I didn’t want to wait. I arranged for some alone time with my wife and daughter sequestered myself in my office and put in the first one, the “Control Your Cravings & Feel Full Fast” CD, tilted back in my high backed executive type chair, put on my headsets and officially launched my new weight loss plan.

What an interesting experience! Amazing is a better word for it. I’ve never done hypnosis before so I really didn’t know what to expect but it was actually quite pleasant. I can only recall about half the session as I was… I guess… asleep through the last half. It was a very relaxing experience. The hypnotist’s voice is incredibly soothing to listen to. There’s some very nice background music and the whole sound is very pleasurable to listen to. She’s definitely got a gift for it and it’s obviously a professionally mastered recording. During the part I remember, my mind was clear but my body was relaxing more and more. I noticed this most as I felt my jaw drop and my mouth open. I’m glad no one was watching as I probably looked like an idiot.

I found my mind wandering a bit but the voice on the CD said that was ok and that I didn’t even have to listen to the words as my subconscious was going to be listening. That was comforting and made the experience more enjoyable. Anyway, most of what I do remember was the relaxing part so I can’t really tell you what was said about losing weight. The next thing I remember is hearing the voice telling me that I was waking up and sure enough I was… so whatever she was doing must have worked to some degree as it ended the way it seemed like it was supposed to, with me waking up. After the session, I felt good. Even though it was only half an hour, I felt calm and rested and overall very good. Next I went on with my day and just observed for any possible sign of the CD’s effect on my eating habits.

As I have said, I’m not going to “try” in the traditional sense on this weight loss program, I’m simply going to see what, if any changes occur. I’m pleased to report that I did notice some positive differences and I attribute them to the session. They were subtle to be sure, but they were also significant enough for me to know it wasn’t me accidently trying to “be on a diet.”

My particular eating habits are probably as bad as it gets. I am normally the type of person who grazes more than eating formal meals and the evening is when I do most of my eating. Some nights we do an official dinner and some nights we just eat out of the fridge and cupboards using the microwave. Hot dogs are a staple as they take about 30 seconds to make and are great fun to eat. We always keep some Chili without beans in the fridge as well to make chili dogs on order.

Well, last night, it turned out, was a night when we were going to be eating separately so it was up to me to decide what to make to eat. Normallly, I would have gone with 3 or 4 chili dogs or a couple of hamburgers (we keep frozen hamburger patties in the freezer – 3 minutes to make a hamburger). I thought about it but it just didn’t sound good to me… I simply didn’t want either one. That was very different indeed. It wasn’t like I was supposed to resist them or anything like that, it just wasn’t what I wanted at the moment, a very natural decision but not what I would have expected from myself. I tossed around a few other ideas, like a can of chili or making some spaghetti but they didn’t hit the spot either. What did sound good to me was one of my tuna salads, lettuce, sliced tomato, can of tuna, canola oil, italian seasoning, black pepper, can of tuna in water (drained) and parmesian cheese. I always enjoy eating them but they are a little more labor intensive than a bunch of chili dogs but last night, that is what I wanted to eat and it was great.

As the evening wore on, I found myself still having thoughts about grazing some more as commercials or other things triggered that old habit but I never could land on what might be good. Popcorn, a usual sure thing again, just didn’t catch my fancy so I ended up going to bed without eathing anything else for the evening. I just drank my iced tea and that was it.

For breakfast this morning, I went with my usual mini-wheats and 1% milk but took a smaller portion than I usually do. I usually pour myself about 2 1/2 cups of cereal. Today I guess I did about 1 cup. It just seemed like the right amount. Now, I’ve taken smaller portions before, more time than I care to remember, but it has always been a “should” rather than a “this looks about right” so that was a subtle difference. More importantly, I usually have to resist having a second or even a third bowl but today, the one serving did the trick. It’s been a few hours and I haven’t felt like I wanted something else.

Now, these don’t feel to me like huge changes but they are real differences and suggest to me that the CD did have some effect. I sure don’t feel like I am being controlled or really any different at all though but I guess that’s what I’m looking for… positive change that doesn’t feel like change at all.

Still, one day does not a weight loss program make and I am far from through not trying on this one. There is a world of fattening, greasy, sweet and delicious foods our there just waiting for me to not try to resist so I will press onward and report here. Today I’m going to do the same CD again, for reinforcement, then tomorrow, I will move on to one of the others.

Oh.. one last thing… I am delighted to report that, so far… I’ve not been tempted to stick my hands in my arm pits, flap my imaginary wings and walk around the house clucking like a chicken… so I apparently dodged the bullet on that one too.